Graphic Solutions believes clear design brings out the best in a communication. Photo by Crissy Jarvis on Unsplash
The Plain Language Awards owes a huge amount to design sponsor Graphic Solutions. This boutique Wellington-based design company has sponsored the Awards for many years now!
Craig Christensen is the inspired designer behind our favourite Awards catchcry ‘Who’s the clearest of them all?’ Craig has infused the Awards brand with bold colour and quirky, eye-catching icons.
Read Craig’s story behind the Awards branding
Craig has always been a keen supporter of clear communication and of the Awards, and says becoming a sponsor was an easy decision to make. He believes in the intimate link between clear communication and clear design, so he welcomed the opportunity to sponsor a cause so closely related to his professional practice.
Good design starts with good content. Clear, well-designed, and well-planned content means your messages get through with less effort.
We agree!
Read more about why Graphic Solutions chooses to sponsor the Awards
Anne-Marie Chisnall April 22nd, 2021
Posted In: 2021 Plain English Awards, Sponsors
Tags: clear communication, design, Graphic Solutions, sponsors, Sponsorship
The Write team believes in the power of words for good. Photo by Jess O'Brien Photographer
Sister companies Write and WriteMark are the founding sponsors of the Plain English Awards — New Zealand’s celebration of clear communicators. With the Awards returning in 2021, both Write and WriteMark are renewing their support.
This year, Write has an extra-special reason to commit to the Awards. As Write has just become a certified B Corporation, CE Lynda Harris feels an even greater commitment to the Awards as yet another way of demonstrating impact in the world.
Lynda explains:
We believe that people have the ethical and democratic right to understand communications that are central to their lives — government forms, legal documents, financial applications and agreements, terms and conditions, and more.
Ultimately, we want people to be able to understand critical information easily, and to make key life decisions based on that information being as clear as possible.
Getting the plain language message out
The Awards celebrate the communicators who create clear, accessible documents and websites. And in doing so, the Awards help to share the message that we all benefit from plain language in so many ways.
Plain language enables us all to participate more easily in society and make important legal, financial, and health decisions based on better understanding. That’s got to be a good outcome!
Are you willing to join the call?
A plain language approach to communication means truly committing to putting customers and colleagues first — a culture-changing shift in how business and society operate. Our sponsors are joining the call for fairer, clearer communication from all sectors.
If you’re interested in supporting the 2021 Plain English Awards, please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you, and we’d love to have you on our team.
Meet our sponsors
Become a sponsor
Anne-Marie Chisnall April 7th, 2021
Posted In: 2021 Plain English Awards, Communications, Sponsorship
Tags: 2021 Plain English Awards, clear communication, Industry awards, sponsors, Write Limited, WriteMark
Share the stories of your plain language projects and inspire others! Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash
This year, we’re introducing something new to shine a spotlight on the amazing achievements of our entrants and supporters.
We’re inviting you to share videos telling the story behind your document, project, or passion, or to tell your story of why plain language matters to you.
Why share your stories?
We’re all keen to see what a plain language approach is like in action, and the work you’ve done to achieve it.
Your stories are a chance for you to acknowledge the hard work that your team has put into the project. Your stories will showcase the thinking, planning, and drafting that goes into producing plain language content.
We hope your stories will inspire others to see how plain language can make a difference in people’s lives. No story is too big or too small!
Share your plain language story
Your stories will form part of a video gallery
We’ll showcase your stories on a gallery on the Plain English Awards website so that together we can inspire, challenge, and enlighten others. Your videos will be promoted in our newsletter, and will appear alongside those from other individuals and organisations. The story gallery will be a wonderful resource to share with your own audiences too.
As Awards project manager Jonny puts it:
It’s clear to us that, every year, projects and documents that are entered into the Plain English Awards have often taken a lot of thought and effort. Previously, our judges have been the only ones to see and enjoy your work.
In 2021 we want to know why you used a plain language approach. We also want to celebrate the positive impact that plain language has on organisations, customers, and the public.
View stories of plain language in our gallery
Discover some of our previous winners
Find out more about the entry process
Anne-Marie Chisnall April 7th, 2021
Posted In: 2021 Plain English Awards
Tags: clarity, clear communication, plain language, Story
Great news! The Plain English Awards are back for 2021. Photo by Natalia Łyczko on Unsplash
Here’s the news we know lots of you have been waiting for — the Plain English Awards are back for 2021! They’ll look a little different this year, with a virtual ceremony and some new ways to share your inspiring work in clear communication.
Fresh Awards with a new theme
This year’s Awards will have the theme of Story. We’ll be inviting all entrants to share the stories behind their plain language projects in short videos. We’ll showcase your stories on the Awards website so that others can be inspired and enlightened by your work.
As Awards patron Chloe Wright puts it:
We need to be innovative and adapt to the current circumstances. I’m right behind the idea of sharing stories and as a storyteller myself, I will love reading of these experiences.
The Awards aim to bring plain language into common use and raise awareness in the community. So we hope the stories you share will show others the what, why, and how of your projects. You’ll get the opportunity to share what excites you about plain language, and the impact your work has had on the world.
Watch for more guidance soon on our Story theme.
All the familiar categories are back
We’ll have all categories available in 2021, including the two People’s Choice categories for Best Communication and the infamous Brainstrain.
Entries will open soon. Meanwhile put your thinking caps on and start creating the stories behind your potential entries.
Read about the 3-step process for entering the 2021 Awards
Take a note of these key dates
Here are the key dates we’ve planned so far for the 2021 Awards.
- Mid-April: Video story submissions open
- 1 June: Entries open
- 2 August: Entries close
- 16 September: Finalists announced
- 14 October: Winners announced
Let’s keep in touch
Sign up to our newsletter for the latest news
And if you’re interested in sponsoring the 2021 Awards, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact Melissa to find out about sponsor benefits at enquiries@plainlanguageawards.org.nz
Anne-Marie Chisnall March 3rd, 2021
Posted In: 2021 Plain English Awards
Tags: clear communication, People's Choice, Plain English Awards, plain language, recognition, sponsors, Story, video submission
Let’s celebrate our greatest communicators, when we’re up and running again. Image by Clark Tibbs / Unsplash licence.
You, like us, will no doubt have seen many examples of wonderfully clear communication related to the COVID-19 pandemic over the past few months. We’ve received several messages in this time from people wanting to acknowledge some of these communications.
When we’re up and running again, we’ll welcome entries in the Plain English Awards from people looking for acknowledgement of their own hard work. We’ll also be encouraging members of the public to nominate the work of others in our People’s Choice categories.
While we’re still on hold at the moment, we are looking ahead to figure out when the time will be right to run the Awards again. All going well, we should be on track to open up entries next year, in 2021.
So hold on to all the examples of clear communications that you’re creating, using, sharing, and benefitting from. We couldn’t be more keen to celebrate them when we we’re back.
Read about the winning entries at our most recent full Awards
Watch Write Limited’s ‘Thank you’ video, acknowledging those who’ve communicated so clearly during the COVID pandemic
Anne-Marie Chisnall August 5th, 2020
Posted In: 2020 Plain English Awards
Tags: COVID-19, Plain English Awards 2020
While we're not running the Awards in 2020, we will be back! So hold on to your entries. Image by Neel / Unsplash licence
The annual Plain English Awards is a world-class event that relies on the efforts and support of a large and varied group of plain language enthusiasts. From our generous sponsors to our international panels of judges; our administrative team through to our entrants — every year we benefit from a huge amount of passion and commitment.
We acknowledge the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on many individuals and organisations, so we’ve decided not to run the Awards this year. We’re mindful that many organisations that would normally enter may be under greater pressure than usual. And that other organisations and individuals who usually get involved with the Awards may have less availability.
Our patron, Chloe Wright, supports the decision: ‘I think this option makes sense for this year,’ she says. ‘So many difficult decisions have had to be made over the past few months. We must look to a different and better future by coming through COVID shaken but whole.’
We’ll be ready to roll again when the time’s right
Although we’re not running the Awards this year, we will be back soon. We’ve loved the wonderful examples of plain English that we’ve seen being used both in New Zealand and overseas to communicate clearly during the pandemic. This heightened interest in clear communication gives us an extra incentive to get back up and running when the time’s right.
We look forward to celebrating the efforts of so many communicators at such an important time. So hold on to your entries — we won’t be hosting the Awards for a while, but we’ll make sure you can enter projects you’re especially proud of from your work in 2020.
Keep safe and well. And be sure to check in from time to time. We’ll let you know as soon as we’re ready to get rolling again.
Anne-Marie Chisnall May 21st, 2020
Posted In: 2020 Plain English Awards, Industry awards
Tags: Plain English Awards
We're suspending Awards preparations for now. We'll back as soon as the time's right. Image by Tim Mossholder / Unsplash licence
In light of the current situation in New Zealand and around the world, we’ve decided to suspend preparations for this year’s Awards. We’re conscious that people’s health and safety are the priority at the moment, as they are for us at the Awards.
We’ll welcome your entries with open arms when the time is right
We know many of you have already spent time considering and preparing entries for this year’s Awards. Please hold on to those entries!
Although we’re putting preparations on hold for now, we’ll keep a close eye on developments. When the time feels right to proceed again, you’ll be the first to know.
We’re here if you have any questions
You — our readers, past winners, future entrants, supporters — mean a lot to us. We’d be very happy to hear from you if you have any questions. Don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can reach us:
Anne-Marie Chisnall March 24th, 2020
Posted In: 2020 Plain English Awards
Tags: COVID-19, Plain English Awards 2020
The 2020 Plain English Awards open on 31 March. Image by Kevin Bidwell / Pexels licence
On 31 March 1889 Gustave Eiffel’s tower opened in Paris. On 31 March 1959, the Dalai Lama trekked across the Himalayan Mountains from Lhasa to seek asylum in India. On 31 March 2011, a deadly Egyptian cobra was found alive one week after escaping the reptile house at New York’s Bronx zoo.
On 31 March this year, New Zealand’s Oscars for clear communication turns on the lights and rolls out the fancy carpet for entries in the 2020 Plain English Awards.
Everyone’s a winner
The Awards recognise outstanding efforts in communicating clearly. They’re proof of the power of good communication in doing good.
While the winners get rightful recognition, the real winners are the people and communities who get the information they need. And people feel good when they know what a writer is trying to say and that has their interests at heart.
This year the Plain English Awards has 13 categories open. The Plain English Awards Trust is looking forward to receiving quality entries across all these categories.
Plain English Awards categories
- Plain English Champion
- Best Organisation
- Best Individual or Team
- Best Plain English Document
- Public Sector
- Private Sector
- Best Plain English Sentence Transformation
- Best Plain English Annual Report
- Best Plain English Legal Document
- Best Plain English Technical Communicator
- Best Plain English Turnaround
- People’s Choice
- Best Plain English Communication
- Worst Brainstrain Communication
More than prizes
Apart from the accolades and feathers in caps for winning, past finalists have found that they gained a huge amount even from the judges’ comments they received. Feedback from an anonymous survey of entrants referenced the value of this feedback.
‘The judge’s feedback is priceless – WOW… whatever we paid to enter is nothing compared to that feedback document.’
The Awards get great publicity each year and help boost awareness that the public doesn’t need to put up with poorly written information.
Winners also benefit by being seen as an attractive organisation that can lure strong writers and talented team members.
‘It reinforces that we don’t just say that we communicate with people in clear and plain language — that we actually do.’
You can see your effort has paid off
Writing in plain English and winning an award for your craft can be like mountain climbing. The effort is immense, but the views from the top are crystal clear.
On 29 May 1953 Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest. And 29 May 2020 is the last day for entries…
Here’s how to enter
Anne-Marie Chisnall March 10th, 2020
Posted In: 2020 Plain English Awards, Industry awards
Tags: Plain English Awards 2020
A beautiful handmade trophy is one of several prizes in store for Accuro Health Insurance. Image by A Beautiful Photo
Winners in the 14th annual People’s Choice Awards were announced by Awards media partner Newsroom last week. The People’s Choice Awards recognise the best and worst in government and corporate communications, nominated anonymously by members of the public.
Accuro Health Insurance comes out tops
The award for the People’s Choice — Best Plain English Communication goes to Accuro Health Insurance for their website.
See the official announcement on the Newsroom website
The person who nominated this website said:
It’s a beautifully clear, simple website. I found it clear and logical.
The international panel of judges said about this entry:
This website is a very good example of plain English used to support a business to communicate clearly and in an engaging way with as many New Zealand residents and citizens as possible. I’d expect it to have a positive impact on sales to new customers and existing customer retention and engagement.
This is a very strong site. It gives a great first impression, drawing the reader in from the start. This is then followed up by concise and engaging content, and a simple-to-navigate layout that makes it easy for readers to find and do what they need to.
[Accuro has] done a good job creating a user experience that is clear and helpful, which is refreshing for an insurance organisation.
Bad news for Auckland Council
The award for the People’s Choice — Worst Brainstrain Communication goes to Auckland Council for its Proposed Plan Change letter.
See the official announcement on the Newsroom website
The person who nominated this document said:
A good friend of mine came in waving her [copy of this letter] at me, saying she had a Master’s degree in English and couldn’t understand a word of it.
The international panel of judges said about this entry:
This document is very difficult to understand, which disturbs me because it seems very important for landowners. Also, the writer portrays the content as unimportant, but I don’t think it is so, and this makes me suspicious.
The council is trying to bring a planning change to the attention of its ratepayers and residents. But it has failed miserably to think about how to get that message across in plain language. [The letter] appears to be written for people who understand council processes, not for those who will be most affected by the change.
The third component of this communication is already written in plain language, so the skills to write the rest in plain language exist. This is poor performance for a very important matter, and a huge opportunity missed. Many residents were frustrated by this communication.
New Zealanders continue to benefit after 14 years
The People’s Choice Awards are held each year and form part of the Plain English Awards. The full Plain English Awards are held every second year. Entries for the 2020 Plain English Awards will open at the end of March 2020.
After 14 years of Awards, New Zealanders continue to reap the benefits of business and government using clear communication to engage with their clients, consumers, and customers. The Awards reinforce the element of care that lies behind reader-focused communications.
Awards founder (and CE of plain language consultancy Write Limited) Lynda Harris said care is one of the qualities associated with plain English that’s closest to her heart.
People who choose to communicate in plain English do, by definition, care about their readers. They put the needs of their readers first as they think and write. They care about people, impact, and outcomes.
Awards sponsors
Sponsors for this year’s Awards included WriteMark, Write Limited, Wright Family Foundation, Graphic Solutions, Newsroom, printing.com, MoneyHub, and Consumer NZ.
Other sponsors, whose contributions to the Awards were invaluable, are Editor Software (United Kingdom), JUNO Investing Magazine, and Kendons.
Find out more
See Newsroom’s official announcement of this year’s winners
Read what our winners and finalists had to say on our winners page
For more information, contact:
Gregory Fortuin, Chair, WriteMark Plain English Awards Trust
021 465 254
Anne-Marie Chisnall December 4th, 2019
Posted In: 2019 People's Choice Awards, Brainstrain, People's Choice awards
Tags: Brain Strain Award, clear thinking, clear writing, Industry awards, jargon, jargon-busting, People's Choice Awards, plain English, plain language, power of plain English, writing for the public
Judge Matt Huntington, left, hands over a trophy to last year’s winner of the People’s Choice Best category, Troy Churton from the Commission for Financial Capability. Photo by Rebecca McMillan.
Awards media partner Newsroom will announce the winners of this year’s People’s Choice Awards on Thursday, 28 November.
We can’t wait to find out which of our finalists have come out tops. And we’re very excited to have the support of Newsroom to help us spread the word.
James Elliott — our fabulous and funny MC at Awards presentations for the last 5 years — is continuing his support for plain language by being our star announcer.
All sorts of goodies await the winner of the Best Plain English Communication
We know our judges have been thinking long and hard about which of the top four nominations in their category deserves to win. What can the finalists, all supported by members of the public, look forward to if they win?
First of all, we’re pretty sure they’ll be celebrating their award, knowing that their communication has had a positive impact in the world.
As well, thanks to our wonderful sponsors, the winner will walk away with some fabulous prizes.
They’ll be thrilled to receive the iconic trophy in steel and bronze by Wellington sculptor Campbell Maud. They’ll enjoy using the latest StyleWriter plain English editing software from Editor Software to craft future documents.
And we think they’ll be excited to extend their skills with a place on any of Write Limited’s 1-day open workshops.
A little bit of fun for our Brainstrain winner
Our Brainstrain judges are all industry experts and take their roles very seriously. Even so, we always present the Brainstrain Award with good humour. That’s why the winner of the Worst Brainstrain Communication gets the famous Brainstrain rubbish bin filled with sour worms.
Who’ll win the notorious rubbish bin full of sour worms this year? Photo by Rebecca McMillan.
Winners of our Brainstrain category need serious prizes too! They’ll also get:
- the latest StyleWriter plain English editing software from Editor Software
- 2 hours free consultancy from Write Limited to start transforming the document or webpage into plain English
- a place on any of Write Limited’s 1-day open workshops.
Good luck to all our People’s Choice finalists!
We look forward to finding out our winners on Thursday, 28 November. Why not join us?
Anne-Marie Chisnall November 20th, 2019
Posted In: 2019 People's Choice Awards, Brainstrain, People's Choice awards
Tags: Brain Strain Award, clear thinking, clear writing, Industry awards, jargon, jargon-busting, People's Choice Awards, plain English, plain language, power of plain English, writing for the public
